


Spoils of war

by roguevaxildan



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:35:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguevaxildan/pseuds/roguevaxildan
Summary: Nathan Drake teams up with his brother Samuel, miraculously still alive after ten years of rotting in prison. They're chasing the same dream they chased as bright-eyed kids: the treasure of Henry Avery. Kate Mahone is a treasure hunter with a bone to pick with Rafe Adler. When she hears he's after the treasure of Avery she swears to do anything it takes to prevent Adler's victory. She didn't plan for two reckless guys getting in her way.This is a mashup of the Uncharted games, with a messed up chronology that makes sense to me, I promise. Starts with Avery's treasure, but later delves into Harry Flynn, Lazarevic, and Talbot.
Relationships: Harry Flynn & Original Character(s), Harry Flynn & Original Female Character(s), Harry Flynn/Original Character(s), Harry Flynn/Original Female Character(s), Samuel Drake & Original Character(s), Samuel Drake & Original Female Character(s), Samuel Drake/Original Character(s), Samuel Drake/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't going to be a word-for-word retelling of the games. The chronology will be different, as well as some of the information. I played all four games in a week, but I've binged the Final Fantasy 7 Remake since then and my memory has gone to shit. Suffice it to say: Nathan and Sam meet another treasure hunter hellbent on sticking it to Rafe Adler. Sam's not impressed with her, but Nathan has a more level head on his shoulders.

"Goddammit, they've changed the order," Nate muttered, glaring at the cross next to the podium as though it had personally screwed them over. The ballroom was lavish, and milling around the room were some of the wealthiest criminals in the world. Dressed up to the nines, their hands holding delicate flutes of champagne. It was hard to believe most of them had killed more than their fair share of rivals. The perverse expense suggested they were the types to never get their hands dirty, as was so often the case with the rich. And sure, a fair few of them liked to outsource violence, but you didn't get an invitation to the Rossi estate for being gentle.

It had been three days since Sam had shown up at Jameson Marine, rugged and very much alive. In those three days Nate had lied to Elena, lied to his boss, pretended to travel to Malaysia but actually travelled to Italy, and had pulled two all-nighters with Sam to plan this suicide mission. The Rossi estate was where the big boys came to play. To plan a heist here meant you should just cut out the middle man and go lay down in an empty cemetery plot. Still, their plan had been pretty good. At least, they'd thought so. Until they arrived and saw the cross already out on display at the front of the ballroom.

"Well, gents. That means Plan A is out the window," Sully said, puffing away on his cigar. "What now?"

Nate ran a hand through his hair. "Somebody's rigged this fucking thing. It was supposed to be in the storage room until 10:30." He took a deep breath, composing himself. It wasn't the end of the world. And it was definitely too late to back out. Besides, what were they gonna do? Beg Alcazar for more time? "Okay. Okay. Let's not panic."

"Nate, this entire building is full of thieves. You really think we're gonna be able to snatch that thing in front of all of them and get outta here unseen?" Sully asked in an urgent whisper, the cigar smoke catching in the lights from above. He recognised most of these guys. He'd been around long enough to have run ins with them. They were definitely the shoot first, ask questions later type.

Sam held up a hand, chuckling as though just realising something. He looked older than he was, thanks to the time spent behind bars. There were lines around his eyes, but he still had that trademark smile that made people warm to him almost without realising it. "Boys. It's like you've never spent time in prison. Think about it. If you wanna do something dirty-"

"- you wait for lights out," Nate finished, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Sam, you're a genius." He reached into the inside pocket of his tux and pulled out a plan of the building. The paper was old and crinkled, but new enough that the electrical systems had been included. There had been many renovations to the estate over the years: new extensions, updated security, but the basic layout of the electricity system hadn't changed since its installation. "Let's see... The main power lines all lead to this tower. I'm guessing the generator room must be in there. So all we have to do is kill the power and grab the cross in the confusion."

"A place like this is gonna have backup generators, kid."

"So that buys us a few seconds. At the most." "We'll never get close enough to Avery's cross without drawing suspicion."

"Ciao signori, antipasti?" The two brothers spun to see a waitress standing not two feet from them, balancing a platter of appetisers on her open palm. Sully hastily grabbed the building plan and shoved it back into his jacket, nervously glancing around the room. "Uh, no. Thank you."

Sam took a piece of bruschetta delicately, popping it into his mouth. "Hi," he said, his voice just slightly lower as he smiled at the waitress, sucking the sauce from his fingers in a suggestive manner. "How are you?" She smiled back, returning the flirtatious eye contact. She was shorter than a lot of the other staff members working the floor, her hair flowing just below her shoulders. Sam had taken an instant liking to her. Of course, after ten years in prison, that didn't mean much.

Nate rolled his eyes. "Uh, Sam?"

The ex-con turned, his eyebrows raised. "What?" He turned back, an empty space where the waitress had been just a moment before. "Dammit. Do you have to be such a cock block? You realise I've been locked away for a decade, right?"

"Exactly, after so long in prison Sully in a skirt would've gotten the same reaction. We've got a job to do, man. You can look for her later and go nuts."

"You know, a waiter could get close to the cross without much trouble," Sully suggested, looking between the two brothers. He ignored the skirt jab. He looked damn good in one, if he was remembering a particularly drunken night in Miami correctly. Of course, that was before the varicose veins hit. Maybe even Sam would be put off by his legs now.

"That's true," Sam agreed, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe I should go take her clothes-"

"Let's just find the kitchens, huh?" Nate interrupted, knowing exactly where Sam was going with that particular suggestion.

"Right. Kitchens. That's what I was gonna say."

"I'll keep an eye out on the floor. Let you guys know if there's a need for an impromptu change to the plan."

"Thanks, Sully," Nate nodded, gesturing to a side door. "Sam, let's go."

It didn't take Nathan long to find the tower housing most of the estate's electricity sources. Other than a couple of wandering guards his path was clear, and he had time to listen in horror as Sully maintained polite conversation with one Rafe Adler, the man responsible for Sam's decade-long stint in prison. He sounded as pompous as ever, his cool voice unmistakable. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to know about this second cross. He was supposed to be freezing his ass off in the Scottish countryside. It was obvious, now, who had rigged the auction. Rafe certainly had enough money and influence to make it happen, courtesy of two very rich, very dead, parents. Still, there was no need to panic, Nathan reminded himself. As long as their plan held, Rafe wouldn't be a problem. 

"Sam. You ready?" Nate asked through the earpiece. He was approaching the power outlets, and he could hear the introduction of Avery's cross from the feed of Sam's microphone. They didn't have long.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Sam muttered, shifting his weight as he clasped his hands in front of him. He'd done a good job of avoiding Rafe. The rich boy's attention was focused on Sully, who was doing his best to fight Adler's bids for the cross. The moment the lights went out everything would change. The ballroom was filled with rich criminals all well versed in the ways of the thief. Their reactions were lightning fast. He had to be faster. And he had to be out of the room before the backup generator kicked in.

"Wait- there's something..." Nate sounded confused and Sam tried not to react, looking down at the floor to hide his moving lips. "Nathan? What's going on?"

Sully caught his eye and raised an eyebrow. Rafe held up his number for the auctioneer to note down as the bidding closed. The short waitress from earlier bumped into Sam as she passed.

"Scusi," she apologised. And then darkness. Muttering rose up instantly, and the room echoed with the sounds of people reaching for weapons. Sam was so put off by whatever had confused Nate that he almost missed his cue. He stepped right, his hand shooting out to where he knew the cross was perched. Except... nothing. His hand groped, feeling the unmistakeable shape of the plastic used to prop up the cross. The cross itself was gone. Sam's heart seemed to stop. The lights flickered back on and the crowd was milling about with confusion and suspicion. He allowed himself one surreptitious glance towards the stage to confirm what he'd already felt. It wasn't there. They had to leave.

Nate's voice echoed in his head but Sam wasn't listening. The odd word and phrase crackled through: "...was already..." "I didn't touch-" "What happened down there?" His eyes had locked on the waitress. She was walking confidently towards a service door, glancing behind her before clutching the handle. Her eyes locked on Sam's and suddenly, Sam understood. The waitress. The waitress who'd moved past him just as the lights had blinked out. The only other person in the entire ballroom other than Sam who was close enough to the cross to snatch it. He began walking, slowly at first and then faster, shoving a faceless man out of his way as the woman slipped through the door and out of sight.

"Guys! Can you hear me?" Nate hissed urgently, clearly running at a high speed given just how breathless he sounded. "The damn lights went out before I could get there. Somebody beat me to it."

"Get to the car. We'll deal with it when we're far away from here," Sully's voice crackled through the earpiece. "All good, Sam? ... Sam?"

"Oof!" There was the distinct sound of a fist impacting flesh and Sam's voice huffed through the earpiece. "Dammit, Nate- Ah, you f-! Nate, get to the damn kitchen!" A female shout of pain followed and Nate skidded to a halt, looking around the estate grounds wildly. What the hell was going on? Had Sam been caught on his way out of the building? He changed course and headed for the kitchens, hearing the unmistakable sounds of a brutal fight through his earpiece.

"Move your asses, boys, I've got the car out front. We need to make an escape. And fast."

"Yeah, we're on our way!" He burst through the exterior door into the stainless steel hall that had been outfitted into a state of the art kitchen. Every surface was polished and shining save for a few spots where the food for the evening had been prepared, and there, in the centre of the room, was Sam. He was on his knees, his arm in a tight choke-hold around the throat of.. Wait, the waitress? Nate stared in confusion between the two of them. The waitress kicked out and growled in anger, throwing an elbow back and catching Sam square in the ribs. "Fuck!" He spluttered, only just managing to keep his grip firm. "Nate! Some help here, little brother. Get the gun!" He nodded towards a pistol laying on the floor next to a huge refrigerator.

Nate lunged for it, not recognising it as one of theirs. Must be the waitress's. Obviously the help at the Rossi estate were all armed too. He pointed it squarely at the woman's head. "Hey!" She slowed her struggling, glaring at Nate with daggers in her eyes. Clearly she was smart enough to know when to quit. Her hair clung to her head with sweat, her breathing ragged. "Sam," Nate added, giving his brother a pointed look.

"Are you kidding? She's fucking crazy!"

"Sam!" The elder Drake huffed, slowly and reluctantly releasing his grip on the choke-hold. The waitress shoved him back, scrambling away and leaning against an oven, her chest heaving. "Who the hell are you?" Nate demanded, the gun following her as she moved.

"Go fuck yourself," she snapped, brushing the sweaty hair away from her eyes.

"Fine. Sam," Nate said again. His brother didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the woman by a wrist and yanked her to her feet. He had a scratch down one cheek, and his lip was bloody. As vicious as she was the woman was exhausted and didn't bother to fight as Sam held a tight grip around her wrists and quickly directed her towards the door. The three of them stumbled out into the cold air, the shouts of guards not far behind. A gunshot rang out, a section of stone crumbling to their left as a bullet ricocheted away. Sully's car was idling directly in front of them and they managed to sprint clumsily towards the passenger doors and throw themselves in, just barely avoiding another bullet that bounced off the frame.

"God dammit, kid, what took you so long? And who-"

"Just go!" Sam shouted, cutting him off. Sully grumbled, speeding away from the Rossi estate in a cloud of dust.

* * *

The waitress was silent as they sped through the Italian countryside. She had her head back against the headrest, one hand pinching at her nose. Sam angrily wiped his own several times until it finally stopped bleeding, and Nathan sat between the two of them, one hand firmly on the pistol, his eyes warning both of them to leave whatever fight they'd started back at the estate for less confined quarters. They finally pulled up outside a motel more than an hour later. It was well past midnight and, thankfully, it seemed the residents had all gone to bed. It was the first time the Drakes were grateful for Sully choosing a motel so far from the bars in the city centres. After double-checking that the coast was clear Sam dragged the woman out of the car, Nate following close behind as Sully led the way to their door. He held it open for them, Sam not-too-gently throwing the woman into the scarcely furnished room as Nate took one final check of their surroundings before entering and locking the door. He had been fairly quiet in the car, but now he glared between Sam and the waitress. "Okay. Please tell me you got the cross."

"Oh, I got the cross," Sam nodded, pulling a broken wooden cross from his waistband and throwing it to the floor angrily.

"What-"

"Can somebody please explain what the hell happened back there?" Sully asked, his wrinkles more defined than ever thanks to just how confused he was by the entire situation.

"The lights went out, I went for the cross, and it was already gone. Literally the freaking second it got dark. I saw her sneaking out the back when they came back on so I followed her. Found her in the kitchen. She'd already broken the cross and got the paper out. And when she saw me, she-" He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "She burned it."

"What?"

"She _burned_ it, Nate."

Nate stared at the woman, who was on her ass, her head leaning back against the edge of one of the beds. "Okay. Who are you?"

"Listen," she said, lifting her head to look at Nate defiantly. "I'm not telling you. And your buddy there couldn't beat it out of me. So looks like you're shit outta luck."

Sully stepped forward, his cigar hanging loosely from his lips. "Kate?"

The waitress stopped, her eyes focusing on the older man before widening in recognition. "Holy... Sully? What the fuck?" She laughed, struggling to her feet. Nate and Sam immediately stepped forward, hands on their guns. Ignoring them she embraced the older man, chuckling into his shoulder. "I thought you died in Brazil, you old dolt."

"Takes more than a few bullets to kill me. I didn't recognise you, kid. What are you doing in Italy?"

"Working," she grinned. "What else?"

The Drake brothers glanced at each other.

"Kate?" Sam mouthed.

Nate shrugged. "Uh, Sully? You wanna fill us in here?"

"Oh," Sully stepped away, wrapping an arm around the woman's shoulder. "Kate, I'd like you to meet Nate and Sam. Drake. Boys, this is Kate Mahone."

Nate blinked twice, looking the woman up and down. "This is-?"

"The one and the same," Sully chuckled.

"Wait. Who the hell is Kate Mahone?" Sam asked, more confused than ever.

"Uh, one of Sully's old contacts," Nate answered slowly, looking the woman over. "He worked with her a few years ago, when I was on the China job."

She smiled, sitting down on the nearest bed. "And you're the Drake brothers. Nathan," she gestured to Nate. "Smart, pretty damn lucky. I heard you found El Dorado." She moved her gaze to Sam, a mutual dislike passing between the both of them. "And Sam. Heard you were dead and gone, buddy." Sam held his arms out wide, a classic 'here I am' pose that he held before going back to lighting a cigarette between his bloody lips. "I've heard a lot about both of you."

"Likewise," Nate nodded. She was pretty infamous for being sharp as a tack and vengeful to boot. He'd always imagined her as an older woman, despite Sully saying more than once that she was around Nate's age. She was still in the waitress uniform, but now there was a splash of blood down the front of the white blouse where Sam has bust her nose. Her hair had been tied back after the snatch, but now strands fell across her face, pulled loose in the struggle. Her face was flushed and spotted with dried flecks of blood, but otherwise unscathed. Sully had his fair share of stories of his time working with Kate Mahone. He always spoke of her with a fondness Nate rarely heard when Sully talked about his other colleagues.

"Yeah, yeah, this is touching," Sam muttered, his words mumbled due to the cigarette trapped between his lips. "She burned the damn clue."

"That is a problem," Sully sighed. "Kate, these boys need to find Avery's treasure. They've got a lot riding on this."

Kate looked at him, as though weighing her options. "I'd rather die than let Rafe find one coin from that hoard."

"Nice to know Rafe doesn't discriminate when it comes to making enemies," Nate laughed drily. "We're not working with him."

"He worked with you a while back to find clues in Mexico about Avery's ship."

"Yeah, and then he left me for dead-" Sam started, but Nate cut him off.

"We don't work with him _any more_ ," he corrected himself.

"Please tell us you read that clue first, Kate," Sully said, puffing away.

She sighed, glancing between the three men. "Yeah. I read it."

Sam laughed humourlessly. "Wanna tell us what it said?"

"Wanna tell me why you're so obsessed with Avery's treasure?" The men exchanged glances through the smoke-filled air.

"Boys?" Sully asked. Nate sighed, perching on the edge of the bed nearest the door. Tonight hadn't gone exactly how he'd planned. There wasn't supposed to be any competition for the cross. Hell, Rafe wasn't even meant to make an appearance, let alone anybody else. He had heard a lot about Kate Mahone. Her name had been floating around for as long as Nate had been working. He'd never had the pleasure of working with her, but those who did were never shy in their compliments of her abilities. He didn't know her personally. How could he trust her? That being said... Sully seemed to.

Sam stared. "No. _Absolutely_ not."

"Sam-"

"She almost gouged my damn eyes out, Nate!"

"And right now she's your best bet at getting Alcazar his money! Sully," Nate turned to the older man. "What do you think?"

"Look kid," Sully sighed. "This is your job. I don't wanna make decisions for you. But Kate is a hell of a good partner to have. She'd have your back."

Nate rubbed the back of his neck. Sam glowered at Kate, and Kate glowered back. "I don't like being held like a hostage for information," Nate started.

"And I don't like getting jumped by random guys when I'm going about my business," she retorted. Sam scoffed.

"Sam," Nate warned again. "Look, we need this treasure... Kate, what do you know about Hector Alcazar?"

"Hector Alcazar?" Kate repeated, surprised. What the hell did a Mexican drug runner have to do with Henry Avery? "The drug lord who likes to cut up guys when he gets antsy?"

"That's the one. Sam owes him money." Kate couldn't help but let out a laugh. Of course he did. She'd known Sam for all of two minutes and she already could've guessed that out of the three men in the room, he was the most likely to owe money to a butchering psychopath.

"Glad you find it funny," Sam mumbled, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"I've heard of him. He's not the kind of guy you wanna cross without having your will finalised. Haven't heard about him for a few years. Heard he was dead."

"Yeah, well you heard that about Sully and I too."

"Touché," Kate smiled mockingly at Sam.

"So now you see why we need to find Avery's treasure. And fast."

"Okay. I'll help." That was it. No ifs or buts. Sam raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting more. But Kate simply nodded, her mind made up.

"If?" Sam asked bluntly.

"No 'if'. I'll help." Sam didn't look satisfied. Kate sighed, throwing up her hands. "The only reason I'm doing this is to stop Rafe. I mean, yeah, 400 million is a great incentive. I'd want a cut, sure. But the best thing I'll get out of this is seeing the look on Rafe's face when he realises we beat him to it."

"Wow. You really hate Rafe, huh?" Nate asked with a dry laugh.

"He screwed me over. I don't exactly forgive and forget."

"What did he do?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"He screwed me over."

"Yeah, you said that. How?"

"Does that matter?"

Sam huffed in disbelief and staring at Nate. "I'm supposed to trust this girl?"

Nate looked at him before his eyes met Kate's and he shrugged. "It'd help if we knew more."

Kate hesitated before answering. "He shot me," she said simply.

"He shot you?"

"We pulled a job a while back... 'Reclaiming' a couple of items from the British Museum for a guy in Egypt. He wanted the profits for himself." She scoffed. "Not that he needed it. The guy's a trust fund baby if ever I saw one. We'd been dating for a few months at that point, so you can imagine how pissed off I was when he turned like that."

"So he just shot you and took off?"

"Can't blame him," Sam muttered. Kate glared. Sam glared back. Nate glared at both of them.

"So what did the clue say?" he tried again. Despite the obvious dislike between Sam and Kate, Nate was starting to like her. Anybody who wanted to fuck with Rafe Adler's plans was a good person in his book.

"Not much. It had the dates of Avery's birth and death. A skull, and two cutlasses. My guess is it's-"

"It must be his headstone," Sam interrupted.

"Yeah," Kate sighed, annoyed at being cut off before the big reveal.

"Birth and death. He was buried in Scotland. Where Rafe's been digging for years."

"Rafe's been digging around the monastery," Nate reminded him. "While I was working with him he never went anywhere near the cemetery. I don't think he even knew it was there."

"It's been under his nose this whole time?"

"Seems like it."

"Looks like we're going to Scotland, boys," Sully grinned. "I hear the weather's lovely this time of year."

"How many seats on that plane of yours, Sully?" Kate asked.

Sam turned to face her, shaking his head. "No. Not happening."

"I want to be there. I wanna see him realise we beat him to the treasure, and then I wanna shoot him right in that smug face of his."

Nathan liked her. "You good with a gun?" She nodded. "Climbing?" She nodded again. "Got any special skills?" At this a corner of her mouth quirked upwards and Sully interjected. This was dangerous territory, it was like two of his kids flirting with each other.

"Kate's a damn good shot. And she knows more than her fair share about computers. More than I do."

"That's not saying much, old man," Sam replied. 

"Tech expert?" Nate asked her, eyebrows raised.

"Not exactly. But I know my way around most stuff. That's how I got the lights off back there. Remote timer on the power generator."

"Yeah, I saw that. Pretty impressive."

"I made it myself," she smiled, proud but modest.

Nate glanced at Sam, giving him a small shrug. "We could use the help. You've been out of the game..."

"Nate, she almost knocked me out cold."

"Which means I want her on my side in a fight. You're not easy to take down. And she knows Rafe. Dated him. We could use that to our advantage." 

Sam looked determined to say something, but one glance around the room told him he was outnumbered. With an angry growl he grabbed a pack of cigarettes and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Kate raised an eyebrow. "So... when do we leave?"


	2. Bonding

It was three days after the planned heist at the Rossi estate. They'd made their preparations, drawing up a map of the cemetery's position in relation to the monastery. It was at least ten minutes travel. With luck, they could avoid Rafe altogether. Of course, nothing was ever that simple. Rafe's men surrounded the monastery for a mile in every direction, setting up various pieces of equipment. Nate and Sam had made their way into the Scottish wilderness, several miles from the cemetery to get the lay of the land and hopefully approach unnoticed. Kate and Sully were on standby in the nearby sea plane. As exciting as the trip promised to be, Kate had to admit it had been fairly quiet so far. Sully reclined on a long, padded bench along the wall of the plane, surrounded by cigar smoke. 

"You know that's gonna kill you?" Kate asked, sitting opposite with a radio cradled in her lap. 

"The number of times I come face to face with crazy guys and their guns, I'll be lucky to be killed by one of these, kid."

That didn't make Kate feel any better. Before the Rossi reunion they hadn't seen each other in a fair few years, but she had always held a soft spot for Sully. He was the closest thing to a father figure she'd ever had, despite the limited time they spent together on jobs. It really said a lot for the male role models, or lack thereof, she'd had in her life thus far. "If you don't stop, I'll shoot you myself," she retorted, a slight smirk giving away her sarcasm. 

Sully chuckled, shaking his head. "You're a tough kid, Kate. But you're not gonna shoot me." Kate was halfway through a retort but simply laughed instead. He was right. There was honour among thieves, and even more between Sully and Kate. They'd helped each other out of a few tough scrapes. "Speaking of shooting people, how are you and Sam getting on?" He asked it with a smirk, as if he already knew the answer. And, chances were, he did. It was no secret that Sam and Kate had been at each other's throats since their introduction at the Rossi estate. Sam maintained it was because she'd tried to get the drop on them for an item he'd been after for a decade. Kate maintained it was because she'd kicked his ass.

"Well, I don't feel any bullet holes yet, so it's not as bad as it could be," she grinned. Sully and Nate had tried their best to keep the two on friendly terms, but something about the two of them in close proximity always seemed to lead to an explosive argument. 

The radio crackled to life, Nate's voice coming through with a cacophony of gunfire in the background. "We need you to come get us!"

"Nate? What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain- Dammit, Sam! Come on! -I'll explain later. Just hurry up!" Sully was already in the pilot's seat, letting the plan engine roar to life and steering the craft towards a viable takeoff point. 

It didn't take long for them to locate the Drakes, running along a cliff side with a frighteningly large group of soldiers giving chase. "There!" Kate yelled, pointing towards the two figures, who were now blindly returning fire.

"I can't land here! The rocks!" The tumultuous sea was sending waves and spray up the cliff, but in the ebbs between surges the sharp rocks on the seabed were clearly visible. There was no way Sully would be able to land anywhere close to the cliffs. 

"God dammit-" Kate cursed, hanging on to various straps and canvas ties as she fought her way to the side door of the sea plane. She threw it open, the winter winds causing her hair to whip across her face. Hanging out of the door she searched desperately along the coastline. "Here! Sully! Go down!" A sharp precipice jutted out, a few hundred metres ahead of the Drake brothers. Kate fumbled with her radio. "Hey, can you guys get to the edge of that cliff?" 

"It's the only place we can go!" Nate shouted back, narrowly avoiding a bullet that whizzed a mere inch above his hair. Kate gripped the nearest cargo strap as the plane veered down at a dangerously steep angle, trying to fight against the fear rising in her chest. They'd have one shot at this. 

"Okay, you're gonna have to jump!"

"What-" Sam's voice cut off as Nate shouted an agreement. Trust Nate to be so ready and willing to throw himself off a cliff. 

"Sully, you need to get as close to that cliff as you can!"

Sully had already figured out Kate's plan and was heading directly for the precipice, his knuckles white on the plane's controls. "This could fuck up. This could fuck up so badly," he muttered. The sound of the plane's engines, and the soldier's gunfire, was deafening. The wind made it difficult to focus on anything for longer than a couple of seconds as Kate's eyes streamed tears. The brothers were nearly there. Kate moved to the edge of the door, pressing herself against the fuselage to make room for the men to launch themselves into the plane. They didn't have time to stop or slow down as they approached the edge. They'd have to sprint to the precipice and leap towards the open plane door with the bullets flying behind them, risking a long fall onto the rocks below. It was do or die. Literally. Sully was a good pilot, and he timed the descent perfectly with the Drake's approach. Sam was slightly ahead of Nate and made the jump first, his stomach connecting with the ledge of the plane door. He scrambled for purchase, pulling himself up into the plane. Nate was mere seconds behind him but the plane couldn't stay in one static position, and now it hung just slightly higher in the air as he made the jump. His hand reached out and Kate flung herself forward, hoping against hope that her grip on the cargo strap would hold. With a scream of effort from both of them Kate managed to keep a tight grip on Nate's hand, and he scrambled into the plane. Sully veered sharply up, narrowly missing a hail of bullets before turning away from the cliffs and flying towards the open ocean. 

"Jesus..." Nate breathed heavily, leaning back against the metal wall of the plane. "That was crazy."

"Did you get hit?" Kate asked, concerned. 

"Just a couple of grazes. Nothing major."

"No thanks to you," Sam mumbled. 

Kate turned sharply. "Excuse me?"

"You couldn't think of another way to get us outta there?"

"Are you fucking serious? You guys didn't exactly give us a lot of time to work out an extraction plan!"

"We could've smashed our skulls on those damn rocks!" 

"You were the ones running towards a cliff with no way out!"

"Hey!" Sully barked, interrupting the argument. The three of them turned towards the pilot, who was glancing over his shoulder. "Where are we headed?"

Nate pulled himself up with a groan, heading towards the older man. "Madagascar." 

Kate glared at Sam, receiving the same glare in return, before following Nate. "Madagascar? What did you find?"

"Those pirates sure like to lead people on round-the-world journeys," Nate grinned. "There was all kinds of stuff down there. But most importantly? A map, pointing to King's Bay, Madagascar."

"That's where Avery hid his treasure?" 

"Hopefully. There's a dormant volcano there, it's on this coin."

He flipped a coin into the air and Kate caught it, examining it closely. "Damn... Nate, this is worth..."

"I know," he grinned.

"He loved leading people on wild chases, huh?"

"Adventure. That's what pirates were all about." Nate grinned and Kate returned the expression, her anger at Sam giving way to growing excitement. They were getting closer. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones.

"Was Rafe there?" 

"Yeah. He knows about King's Bay. But we're ahead of him."

"For now."

"For as long as possible." 

* * *

The journey was fairly uneventful, with Nate and Sully trying, unsuccessfully, to encourage conversation between Sam and Kate. The animosity that had sparked with their scuffle in the Rossi kitchen was now a small flame of hatred, and no amount of ribbing or lighthearted attempts at chatter by Nate was going to change that. They stopped over in France to gas up the plane and slept in the fuselage to save a little cash. They weren't willing to fork out for a couple of motel rooms for one night, and they gripped their blankets tightly as the wind picked up in the early hours. None of them got very much sleep, whether through planning, or just not being able to settle their excitement as they got closer to their goal. They could all feel the shadow of Rafe growing behind them, and it was clear, now more than ever, that every second counted.

It didn't take long for them to make their way out into the wilds of Madagascar. They'd spotted several of Rafe's men near their motel, and had quickly driven their rented 4x4 out into the rocky wilderness. The heat made the horizon ripple like water, and the red ground gave the impression that even the rocks were struggling to cope with the sun. Ruins littered the landscape, making Nate exclaim excitedly that they were getting close, but it wasn't until midday that they finally found their way into the huge stone room containing the symbols of not one, but twelve pirates. Sam pointed to each and named them correctly. Kate was impressed, but she kept that to herself and masked it with an expression of mild annoyance. She wasn't going to compliment him on his knowledge of ancient pirates when he was such a dick. 

"So, twelve towers? One for each pirate?" Sully asked, running his hand over the symbol of Anne Bonny. 

"Why would they build twelve separate towers? Why not just the one?" Kate asked, confused.

"Pirates weren't exactly subtle," Nate reminded her. "They all would've wanted their own versions."

Sully huffed, throwing his arms up. "And how in the hell are we supposed to find the right tower before Adler shows up?"

"Look at this." Sam moved towards the map, holding up the coin they'd found in Scotland. On one side was the engraved volcano, which had led them to this very spot. But on the other was a faded symbol, a central line with several lines jutting out. 

"That's the scales," Nate said, pointing to the symbol of Libra above one of the towers on the map. 

"Or the trident," Sam pointed out uncertainly. The two symbols were on opposite sides of the bay. The Drake brothers grumbled in frustration, and Kate glanced at Sully. They were all thinking the same thing; Rafe was already in Madagascar. If he had a clue that their group didn't, and knew which tower to go to already, they'd never reach the building in time. 

Sam stepped back, running a hand through his hair. "We need to split up."

"That's not happening."

"Nate. They've already got a head start on us. And they have a hell of a lot more men than us. If we wanna get the treasure before them we need to get to both towers as soon as damn possible."

"Sam's right." Sam raised his eyebrows, glancing at Kate. She never agreed with him. "We've got no chance if we all stick together. They've hopefully got twelve towers to search. That's a disadvantage for them. We have four people, that's a disadvantage for us. Two to each." 

Nate looked as though he was about to protest, but Sam was already sprinting back up the wreckage towards the 4x4. "Dammit," he mumbled. "You're going with him."

For a second Kate thought he'd spoken to Sully. When no reply came she looked at the older man, and then at Nate when she realised they were both looking at her. She barked out a laugh. "Not. A. Chance." 

"Kate-"

"It's not happening. Sully can go."

"I don't mind-"

Nate cut him off. "No offence to Sully, but he's not as limber as he used to be. And Sam's been in prison for ten years. He might need help."

"He's been doing fine so far," Kate answered. She knew exactly what Nathan was trying to do; force them together. Make them work as a team far away from Sully and Nate so they wouldn't have to deal with their bickering, and hopefully make them deal with whatever problems the two of them had with each other.

"Kate, please. I need you to watch his back." 

Kate opened her mouth to protest and then closed it, huffing in frustration. Sully was a damn good mover for his age, but Nate was right in his reasoning, as desperate and thin as it sounded. When it came to health, she and Nate were the best bets. That didn't make her feel good about her chance with Sam. She'd never seen herself as particularly strong, physically. If she was the best of the two of them she doubted they'd be able to make any headway at their tower. Without a word she nodded and turned, running off in Sam's direction.

He was waiting in the jeep, the engine rumbling. When he saw Kate approaching he took the cigarette out of his mouth and stared. She was still at a distance but Kate could clearly see his mouth forming a few choice swear words. "Where's Nate? Hell, where's Sully?" 

"You're stuck with me," Kate replied, pulling herself up by the roll bar and sliding into the passenger seat. 

"The hell I am."

"I don't like it either. But the longer we argue the more likely it is that Rafe finds the right tower before us. Let's just go." That got him. He needed this treasure. Kate knew that any thought of Rafe winning against them would spur him into action. With one last look back towards the hole where Nate and Sully were, still working out the plan for their own tower, he put the jeep into gear and rolled away from the compound, muttering angrily under his breath. 

* * *

"Sam, we've been looking for two hours. There's nothing here."

"You don't know that."

"Have you seen anything that looks like it belonged to Avery or the other pirates? Any symbols?" Sam kicked a pew furiously, running his hands through his hair. It had already been obvious how much this treasure meant to the Drakes, but it was at times like this that Kate really saw just how invested he was in finding it. "Nate and Sully still have their tower to search. They'll have reached it by now. Let's just wait for them to get in touch. See what they find." 

Sam didn't answer, instead putting a foot up on the wall behind him and leaning against it, lighting a new cigarette. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the cool stone, trying to stay optimistic. They still had this. If anybody could find a symbol or clue in an nondescript tower, it was his little brother. 

"Can I bum one?" He opened his eyes, faced with Kate holding a hand out.

"You smoke?" He asked past the cigarette, surprised. 

"Not for... hm, five years? But if there was anything to calm me down right now, it'd be a smoke." He shook out another cigarette from his pack and handed it to her silently. She trapped it between her lips as he flicked open his lighter and held it up to the end of the stick, letting the flame catch at the leaves and paper. Kate smiled, taking a long drag and leaning against the wall next to Sam. He watched her. She looked remarkably relaxed, considering she'd just said she needed to calm down. They stayed like that for what seemed like an hour, letting the smoke creep through the old stone structure. This was the first time since they'd met that they weren't at each other's throats. It felt strange.

Sam's phone rang, breaking the oddly peaceful silence. Kate took a sharp breath, coughing on the smoke as Sam fumbled for the cellphone, putting it on speaker.

"Hey, buddy. We're definitely at the right tower." 

"You serious?" Sam's face lit up, like a child finding a room full of candy. Kate would've found it cute if she actually liked the guy. "We're on our way." 

"Slow down, man. You need to stay where there's a signal. We've got a couple of symbols here we need your help with. I'll send you a photo." 

Over the next hour Sam and Kate moved from position to position, sitting against the wall, resting against the pews, staring out of the broken windows at the farmland around them and the shacks of a poor town in the distance, all while chain smoking and answering Nate's texts. Or, Sam answered, and Kate became increasingly impressed at his knowledge of historic pirates. Of the twelve symbols there seemed to be only one he wasn't confident on. "Let me guess, you were one of those friendless kids who spent his

time reading musty old books?" she asked, a hint of a smile betraying the teasing in the question.

"Hey, I had plenty of friends," Sam retorted with his trademark mumble to prevent the cigarette falling from his lips. 

"Sure. I'll believe you." 

"I did!" It was partly true. Sam had people he'd hang around with, but he wouldn't have called any of them real friends. "What, you never learned to read as a kid?"

"Yeah, but I never read shit about pirates." 

"What did you read?" 

"I dunno."

Sam grinned, realising she was hiding something. "Come on. You must've read some history shit, right? You don't get into this business without having an obsession with history as a kid."

"Historical medicine. Egypt... The Romanovs.." 

"I knew it." 

"What?" 

"Every little girl wanted to find the 'real' Anastasia."

"Fuck off, it was interesting to read about."

"Sure. Why Egypt?"

"I liked mummies. Cleopatra was cool."

"Good enough reason." Kate chuckled and Sam smiled, throwing her another cigarette as his phone rang again. "Hey, Nate. Another puzzle?"

Nate's voice crackled through the loudspeaker, full of fear and urgency. "Sam, you guys need to get out of there now. Smash your phones. Rafe knows where we are, he's sending guys right now. Get the hell out!" Kate scrambled to her feet, drawing her gun. 

"Wait, how did he-" Sam was cut off as the front door of the tower slammed open and a burst of gunfire heralded the arrival of Adler's men. " _Shit_!" Sam dropped his phone, cocking his gun and firing back blindly. 

"Sam!" Kate crouched behind a column, gesturing to the side door they'd entered through. Sam didn't need to be told twice, he moved towards it, dodging bullets and shooting behind him without looking. Kate covered him, close behind. The men were flooding into the tower now, expensive weapons all aimed towards Sam and Kate. They burst out of the side door, racing for the jeep. 

"God damn it!" Sam yelled, kicking the vehicle angrily as he caught sight of the slashed tires. Kate let loose a hail of bullets from her AR-15 and Sam ducked behind a wall, disappearing from sight. Kate yelped in pain as a bullet grazed her shoulder, sending a searing hot agony through her arm. The sound was deafening, bullets ricocheting off the stone, clumps of grass being thrown into the air. 

"Sam?" She yelled, looking around wildly. With a roar a motorcycle skidded to a halt, Sam aiming his gun at the men now filling the tower's courtyard as he covered Kate. She sprinted to the bike and practically leapt onto the seat, one arm wrapped tightly around Sam's waist while the other aimed her gun behind her. "Go!" He didn't need to be told. He'd sped away before her ass was even on the seat properly. She clung on for dear life, closing her eyes as soil and debris was thrown into her face. 

"Hold on!" Sam yelled, speeding over a ramp and falling to the road below, barely managing to keep the bike straight. The sound of a truck behind them made Kate's heart leap into her throat but Sam knew his way around a motorbike. He took the side streets where he could, where the truck couldn't fit. Tight turns, more than once skidding to a halt and spinning the bike in a complete 180 to avoid the gunfire in front of them as well as to the sides. Kate continued to fire wherever she saw Adler's men, in jeeps, trucks, and motorcycles. They were closing in, but Sam was more at home on the bike than he was on his own two feet. He sped down a closed highway, using a discarded plank of wood as a makeshift ramp to leap over the wall and hit the fields below. Kate cursed as her guns ran out of bullets. She threw them into the blurry fields passing by and grabbed Sam's pistol from his waistband, continuing her assault. She hit a bike directly in the engine, watching in shock as it blew up. The jeep behind it couldn't slow in time and

crashed directly into the fiery carnage, also exploding. 

"Holy shit!" she laughed breathlessly, "did you see that?" Sam laughed, whooping as he blasted through a weak fence. The bike took flight, and the two riders felt their stomachs lurch as they were flung through the air, realising far too late that the fence had been bordering a river. They were thrown from the motorcycle, plunging into the freezing water far below them. 

* * *

"I don't like this, Sully." 

"Kid, calm down. They can take care of themselves. They don't have their phones. They know where to meet us. Just give 'em a little more time, yeah?"

Nate and Sully had been holed up in their motel room for two hours now, having barely escaped Adler's men themselves. As the time passed Nate got more and more restless, cleaning his guns, looking over his documents, sketching angrily into his journal. This was crazy. They could be dead. Nate had heard the gunfire on his last call to Sam, and since then he'd had various gruesome images of Kate and his brother dead in a pool of sticky blood flashing through his mind. He was about to yell 'fuck this' and go out to look for them when a burst of laughter made both him and Sully stare at the door. It opened and Sam and Kate stumbled in, soaked to the skin and both with massive grins on their faces. 

"Oh, hey," Kate laughed, as Sam shook his hair and allowed the drops of cold water to spread through the room, like a dog after a bath. 

"What the hell-" Sully started. 

"We made it," Sam grinned, high fiving Kate.

"What-" Nate stared.

"Your brother is a damn good driver," Kate smiled widely, jerking a thumb back towards Sam. 

"And this girl," Sam laughed, putting an arm around Kate's shoulder, "took out a bike and a jeep with one bullet." 

"Ah, watch it, asshole," Kate laughed, playfully shoving Sam away. 

"Oh shit, I forgot. Sully, you got a med kit? She got shot."

"I didn't get _shot_. The bullet didn't even go in." 

"Yeah, yeah, you still got hit by a bullet." 

Sully and Nate stared at each other in disbelief. One afternoon together and they were the best of friends. Shaking his head Sully moved into the bathroom, returning a few moments later with a green box marked 'first aid'. 

"We were worried sick," Nate explained, as Sam took the med kit and readied the supplies, letting Kate sit on the bed next to him. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a deep, brutal graze across her upper arm. Blood still slowly seeped out and Kate grabbed the half empty bottle of rum from the side table as Sam poured a tiny airline bottle of vodka over the wound. She hissed, taking a deep gulp of the rum. 

"We were fine. Left our phones behind, so we couldn't get in touch. It's the 21st century, who memorises phone numbers anymore?"

"What happened?" 

Sam cleaned the graze, taking the bottle of rum and having a deep swig himself before handing it back. "They ambushed us. Fucked up the jeep. I managed to borrow a motorbike, but they chased us through the town. Fuckers had more weapons than a goddamn army." 

"But they didn't know who they were messing with. Evil Knievel here gave them the run around. Managed to hide in a river 'till they moved on." Kate gritted her teeth as she spoke, letting Sam stitch the wound shut as gently as he could. 

"Took a fair few of them out. I don't think Rafe realised how good a shot Kate is," Sam chuckled. 

"Should've let them go off together weeks ago," Nate whispered to Sully, watching in disbelief as Kate and Sam joked together, sharing the rum that Sully had been coveting just moments before they'd arrived.

"Incredible," Sully agreed, his eyes sparkling. He'd wanted the Drakes and Kate to get along. They were so alike, and they were all honorary children to him. It was a relief to see the two of them actually laughing with each other for the first time since they'd met. 

"So what did you guys find?' Sam asked, breaking them out of their whispered exchange.

"The island on the far side of King's Bay. That's where we need to go."

"And let me guess, there'll be another clue there? I'm starting to think this guy is having a joke at our expense." 

"The clues have to stop sometime." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took so long to arrive! Despite quarantine my motivation was extremely low, and my job brought me back a lot sooner than I'd expected, so I've had less time than I would've liked to work on this. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy it!

**Author's Note:**

> I greatly appreciate any feedback. Like I said at the start, this isn't going to be a verbatim retelling. I'm chopping and mixing the games to meet my chronology. I really hope you guys enjoy this!


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